The Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Churches have responded to the UK Government draft “Child Poverty Strategy”. The Child Poverty Act requires the government to update and publish its plan to end Child Poverty by 2020. This target was agreed by all parties and subsequently enshrined in law, …
The Scottish Referendum debate – it’s transforming politics
With over four months still to go to the referendum on Scottish independence, you might be forgiven for thinking that people have had enough of it. It’s true that since the SNP landslide in 2011 there has been a bit of a ‘neverendum’, with the question overhanging everything relating to public …
Freud, Foodbanks and Deliberate Ignorance
Lord Freud, the Minister for Welfare Reform, has again been asked for an explanation of the extraordinary rise in Foodbanks use. Remarkably he managed to produce another implausible answer which also contradicted his two previous contradictory and implausible answers. He stated to the House of …
Truth and Lies… about foodbanks
Last week I was sent a link to two blogs about food banks, both on highly reputable websites. As co-ordinator of JPIT’s work on this subject the sender thought, rightly, I’d be interested. Indeed, my heart leapt when I saw the title of one – by Katie Hopkins – was ‘The Real Reason Food Banks Have …
Five Christians on trial today
The United Reformed Church (URC) has issued a statement on the Arms Trade as five Christians go on trial today for blocking the London Arms Fair in September 2013. The DSEI fair describes itself as “the world leading defence and security event” and entertains arms buyers from around the globe, …
Dear Daily Mail, This isn’t a competition
The Daily Mail has joined the call for the UK 11 billion overseas aid budget to be used to aid people affected by floods in the UK. Of course we are concerned for those in the UK whose homes have been flooded or who find themselves cut off. Every day we hear people’s distress and despair at the …
DWP Disability Benefit press releases “unfit for work”
The DWP estimates that the level of Incapacity Benefit fraud is less that 0.3% – the lowest of any means tested benefit. Disability benefits have always had a low level of fraud but I have never seen a DWP press release mentioning this – not even a tweet from the increasingly …
Dear MPs: Benefits Street is not social science
When the Chancellor last year talked of people with “closed blinds…sleeping off a life on benefits”, I joked that he had mistaken the series “Shameless” for a documentary. “Benefits Street” now gives us the opportunity to watch “Shameless” but using carefully selected real people. This is …
Mr Cameron: Stop saying disabled people are exempted from the Bedroom Tax – they are not.
During Prime Ministers questions David Cameron was asked about the impact of the Bedroom Tax (also called removal of the Spare Room Subsidy) on disabled people. The answer he gave was straight forwardly untrue: “Obviously, what we have done is to exempt disabled people who need an extra room.” …
Workhouse without walls? the Work for Benefits scheme.
In July 2009 there were 22,000 people who had been unemployed for more than 2 years. The latest numbers (July 2013) show that there are now 206,000 people who are long-term unemployed. It is hard to imagine that this increase was caused by a nationwide outbreak of laziness, poor CVs and bad …